1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for injecting a liquid crystal material into a liquid crystal panel of a liquid crystal display device. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for injecting a liquid crystal material into a liquid crystal panel with improved efficiency, increased injection rate, and which does not generate bubbles or displacement of spacer beads, and to a liquid crystal injection apparatus useful for this purpose.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 20, a liquid crystal display device typically includes a pair of glass plates 8 which are attached to each other with an adhesive layer 9 applied therebetween along the periphery thereof. Moreover, spacer beads (not shown) are applied uniformly between the glass plates 8. The spacer beads and the adhesive layer 9 form a liquid crystal injection space 11 having a thickness (about 1 .mu.m to 5 .mu.m) which corresponds to the total thickness of the spacer beads and the adhesive layer 9. Then, a liquid crystal material is injected into the liquid crystal injection space 11 through liquid crystal injection ports 10 formed in the adhesive layer 9.
Hereinafter, conventional examples of methods for injecting a liquid crystal material will be described. In the following description, the term "liquid crystal panel" refers to a panel whose liquid crystal injection space is not filled with a liquid crystal material, i.e., the panel without a liquid crystal material filling between the glass plates 8 in FIG. 20.